<< 1 King 11 |
This is the New King James text of the passages. |
I Kings 12-14 Listen
Breaking up is hard to do (I Kings 12:1-15)
The parallel passage to this chapter is II Chronicles 10
I Kings 12 |
II Chronicles 10 |
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 ¶ So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed. 6 ¶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 ¶ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 ¶ But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 ¶ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ” 12 ¶ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. |
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. 2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 ¶ So he said to them, “Come back to me after three days.” And the people departed. 6 ¶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 ¶ And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.” 8 ¶ But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 ¶ Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ” 12 ¶ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from God, that the LORD might fulfill His word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 ¶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now see to your own house, O David!” ¶ So all Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. 18 ¶ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. |
The Boam boys, Rehoboam (Solomon's son) and Jeroboam (Solomon's chief superintendent of forced labor), are front and center after Solomon's death. The prophet Ahijah, back in I Kings 11:29-39 (see notes), had already spoken on behalf of God that Jeroboam would be King over 10 tribes. That being the case, these complications at Shechem are just a formality. The representatives of the northern tribes speak up after Solomon's death and say to King Rehoboam, "We're overtaxed and oppressed." Rehoboam's senior advisers who had previously served Solomon give their counsel to Rehoboam by saying, "They're overtaxed and oppressed." Rehoboam's childhood buddies (now advisors), however, prevail with their advice causing Rehoboam to reply to the 10 tribes, "You think you're oppressed now, you ain't seen nothing yet!"
Rehoboam makes a very bad decision, but in reality, it had already been prophesied by the prophet Ahijah that Israel would split ; this is the action by Rehoboam that gets credit for the division of the Kingdom of Israel into a Northern Kingdom and a Southern Kingdom. Keep in mind though, this isn't the real reason for the split. The real reason is found in I Kings 11:11 (see notes), "Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, 'Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.'" That's right, God even speaks to Solomon and tells him that after his reign, his kingdom will be split - and all because of Solomon's tolerance for paganism.
A Summary of King #1 over Judah from 931 to 913 B.C.: Rehoboam |
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References | The Good | The Bad |
I Kings 14:21-31 |
Nothing specified | II Chronicles 12:1 Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. II Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. |
Two kingdoms and a math problem (I Kings 12:16-24)
16 ¶ Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:
“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel!
Now, see to your own house, O David!” ¶ So Israel departed to their tents.
17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18 ¶ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 ¶ Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 ¶ And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the LORD, and turned back, according to the word of the LORD.
The inevitable happens; Israel splits. Since Simeon has been absorbed into Judah (II Chronicles 14:8 (see notes) including 280,000 Benjamites. The only logical explanation is that part of Benjamin must have left the Northern Kingdom and joined with Judah as part of Judah itself. Property settlements after a divorce are almost always messy. Verse 20 says, "...There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only."
So let's recap: The prophet Ahijah in II Samuel 19:43 (see notes) in that dispute between Judah and the other "ten" tribes. It seems certain that Simeon here must be included with Judah.
Rehoboam can't seem to accept what has really happened here; he sends Adoram, his chief tax collector, to the Northern Tribes. Hey! Tax collectors aren't popular under the best of circumstances! The people of the Northern Tribes stone him to death. Surely war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam is the only solution here. But God says "NO" through the prophet Shemaiah, Rehoboam calls off the attack, and the two kingdoms remain intact. More about the war plans are found in II Chronicles 11:1-12 (see notes).
A new kingdom and a new religion (I Kings 12:25-33)
The parallel passage is II Chronicles 11:13-17
I Kings 12 |
II Chronicles 11 |
25 ¶ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 ¶ Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 ¶ Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense. |
13 ¶ And from all their territories the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him. 14 For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. 15 Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. 16 And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the LORD God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. 17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong for three years, because they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years. |
Jeroboam establishes Shechem as his capital city, but he perceives a little worship problem here. He can't have the folks going back to Jerusalem to sacrifice in the Temple; they might defect back to the old kingdom. So, Jeroboam establishes a new pagan religion for the Northern Kingdom, complete with the return of not one, but two golden calves, non-Levite priests, a special Feast Day one month after the Feast of Tabernacles along with special altars. As I said, we have a new religion for the Northern Kingdom. He placed the two golden calves in Israel for convenience. I Kings 12:29 says of these golden calves, "And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan." Well, so much for Ahijah's conditional promise from God to Jeroboam if he would serve the one true God back in I Kings 11:29-39 (see notes). Jeroboam never served God - not even from the very beginning.
It's interesting that Jeroboam quotes Aaron after he commissions the worship of the golden calves in verse 28, "...Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!" That's what Aaron said when he made his calf back in Exodus 32:4 (see notes), "And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'" Do those Northern Tribers not remember the rest of that story?
A Summary of King # 1 over Israel (Northern Kingdom) from 931 to 910 B.C.: Jeroboam |
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References | The Good | The Bad |
I Kings 12:25-14:20 |
None - He was evil. | He started a false religion of calf worship. I Kings 12:31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. I Kings 13:33-34 After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth. |
Jeroboam gets a take on what God thinks about his new religion (I Kings 13:1-10)
1 And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”
4 ¶ So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.
5 The altar also was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
6 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” ¶ So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.
7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”
8 ¶ But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place.
9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, “You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ”
10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.
Hint: God doesn't like Jeroboam's new religion. A unnamed man of God comes from the Southern Kingdom while Jeroboam is worshipping at his own home-built altar. He makes a prophecy of death and defilement against that altar to Jeroboam and withers Jeroboam's hand. At Jeroboam's pleading, he restores his hand, but he doesn't repair the altar that just split in two before Jeroboam's eyes. However, the prophecy isn't retracted; we'll see it fulfilled in II Kings 23:15-20 (see notes) during the reign of King Josiah of Judah 300 years or so later. At that time, Josiah does everything prophesied in verse 2 as he institutes reforms after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam makes an offer of hospitality toward the prophet, but he refuses; the prophet had been told not to lodge in the land, but to head straight back to Judah.
My angel trumps your angel (I Kings 13:11-34)
11 ¶ Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah.
13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it,
14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” ¶ And he said, “I am.”
15 ¶ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”
16 ¶ And he said, “I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.
17 For I have been told by the word of the LORD, “You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”
18 ¶ He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)
19 ¶ So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.
20 ¶ Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back;
21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,
22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the LORD said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”
23 ¶ So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse.
25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 ¶ Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to him.”
27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it.
28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey.
29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him.
30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
32 For the saying which he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the shrines on the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, will surely come to pass.”
33 ¶ After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
34 And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth.
You'll recall from the first 10 verses that the bold prophet who confronted Jeroboam was not to lodge in the land. But what if another prophet claims to have a word from the Lord that supersedes your word? Despite his personal orders from God, the bold prophet agrees to lodge with a local prophet. The local prophet claims he received a contradictory word from the Lord making it acceptable to lodge with him. The events that follow are ironic. The lying prophet (the duper), while hosting the prophet (the dupee) who warned Jeroboam, then gets a prophecy condemning the action of the other prophet for heeding his own so-called "word from the Lord." You just can't trust anybody these days. He prophesies the bold prophet's death. Who's going to do the execution? How about we let a lion do it? After the bold prophet is slain by the lion, the lying prophet feels great remorse. He collects the bones of the bold prophet and has them placed in his own sepulcher. There must be a lesson here for all of us: When you are certain the Lord has given you direction, don't allow yourself to be sidetracked by others - regardless of the title they use to identify themselves.
Jeroboam just continues on, emboldened with his new false, pagan religion - appoints more rotten priests and even becomes one himself. Well, here's the sad result of Jeroboam's life in verse 34, "And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth."
It's hard to get a good prophecy when you're an evil king (I Kings 14:1-20)
1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.
2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people.
3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.”
4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age.
5 ¶ Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”
6 ¶ And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.
7 Go, tell Jeroboam, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel,
8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes;
9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—
10 therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.
11 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the LORD has spoken!” ’
12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.
13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
14 ¶ “Moreover the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; this is the day. What? Even now!
15 For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger.
16 And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin.”
17 ¶ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah. When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then Nadab his son reigned in his place.
Jeroboam's son (Abijah) is sick, and he needs a little prophetic knowledge concerning him. He remembers the prophet who told him he'd be king, Ahijah, back in I Kings 15:25-34 (see notes), resulting in the extinction of Jeroboam's descendants, thus marking the end of the Northern Kingdom's first dynasty.
Notice particularly I Kings 14:8 regarding David, "...and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes." With all of David's shortcomings, disobedience toward God was not one of them. That's why it is said of David that he was a man after God's own heart. For more insight on David's heart for God, click here.
Incidentally, all of the modern translations, including the NKJV, have cleaned up the KJV language of verse 10 where males are referred to as those "that pisseth against the wall." In actuality, that is precisely what the Hebrew text says in that passage. It's a Hebrew idiom used another five times in the Old Testament as a reference to males. The editors of the KJV simply transferred the Hebrew idiom into English rather than making an attempt to culturally sanitize it for us.
Meanwhile...evil prevails in Judah under Rehoboam (I Kings 14:21-31)
The parallel passage to this chapter is II Chronicles 12
I Kings 14 |
II Chronicles 12 |
21 ¶ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. 25 ¶ It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom. 29 ¶ Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then Abijam his son reigned in his place. |
1 Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel along with him. 2 And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and people without number who came with him out of Egypt—the Lubim and the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fortified cities of Judah and came to Jerusalem. 5 ¶ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah, who were gathered together in Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD: ‘You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.’ ” 6 ¶ So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, “The LORD is righteous.” 7 ¶ Now when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.” 9 ¶ So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 11 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guard would go and bring them out; then they would take them back into the guardroom. 12 When he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and things also went well in Judah. 13 ¶ Thus King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 14 And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD. 15 ¶ The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 16 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. Then Abijah his son reigned in his place. |
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, isn't doing any better with Judah. He's the son of Solomon and an Ammonite woman (a problem right from the beginning). Rehoboam is an evil King in Judah - worships pagan gods and even allows male homosexual prostitutes in the land. He has a 17-year rocky ride as King of the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Being continually at war with Jeroboam added to his losing campaign against the Egyptian king (Shishak) who comes in and takes all of Solomon's accumulated wealth from the palace and temple. As I said - a tough 17 years, and then he dies.